Gilly and I are enjoying one last weekend with the Christmas tree.

Some years, I am not ready to remove the tree. But this year, after this weekend of course, I think I will be ready. I’ll miss the lights mostly. Happily, we have the feather tree this year and it will remain decorated into mid-January. Then I’ll store those ornaments in a separate bin. We’re going to keep it going with seasonal ornaments of some kind. I’m not sure what: little birds? snowflakes? I have these tiny red berries in one of the Christmas bins. I bought them years ago when we first moved out east. My parents had the same kind of berries on their Christmas tree. I might start off with them. But first I have to find them.

At this moment, Don is recycling. It is frigid out there! It’s 19°, but feels like 10° – enough already! Tomorrow will be an exciting day. We’ll actually hit the freezing mark!

I’m going to go to Lowes today to buy a couple of storage bins. I need to gather up the doll boxes that I want to save in case I ever sell them. They’re taking up a lot of space in my one closet in the studio. I’ll put them in a bin and store them in the shed. Plus, I think there are some other items in that closet that could be stored. Anyway, it’s the first of the year and I’m ready to organize.

I just changed the date on the footer of this blog to 2026.  So it reads “2008-2026.” Yikes! Yes, my friends, we’re headed to the 18th anniversary of this blog in February.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Renewed love for my Roseville Pottery collection. I walk by this cabinet fairly frequently, but stopping to take a picture changes everything. I see these beautiful pieces through fresh eyes.

Also featured: a Swanky Swigs glass. Swanky Swigs were made for Kraft foods. They came filled with cheese spread. Once the cheese was gone, you had a charming little glass.

And the girl on the Easter egg is another creation from Vintage by Crystal. I love, love, love her sense of whimsy.

We toasted the new year with a glass of Martinelli’s sparkling cider and settled in to watch the two-hour finale of Stranger Things. Brilliant! Now I want to watch the entire series again. It first started airing in 2016 when the young actors at the center of the story were 12 or 13. They looked like babies. Covid delayed things, of course. Don and I didn’t start watching until the first two seasons had aired – we played catchup – and we had no idea what to expect. But, we were quickly hooked. I’ll miss it. Hence, my decision to watch it all again. I don’t know whether Don will be on board with this, so I may watch it on my laptop.

We had more snow overnight on Wednesday/Thursday, but it was less than an inch. It’s brutally cold around here. Thankfully, we had some much needed sunshine yesterday. Today looks rather gloomy.

This will be the year of committing to the renovation of the Beacon Hill. I’ll do it on a budget. (I have no choice!) It is so big that the very idea of doing anything seems impossible.

So. A room at a time. Hopefully. completing one room will serve as inspiration for the next. And so on.

I’ve been slowly removing ornaments from the tree as one side of it is drying out and the branches are sagging. I know from experience that precious ornaments can fall and break when that happens. As to why one side is drying out more quickly? I have no idea. Anyway, the lights are still on the tree, as well as several ornaments. We’ll probably do our best to enjoy it for the weekend, but we’ll take it down sooner if we have to. The feather tree will remain fully decorated until we change it out to some other theme.

Today I will be un-decorating the girls’ cubbies as well as taking down the little white tree that sits next to me here in the den.

The porch lights will remain on through February – at least!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

It’s very, very cold here today. The wind lasted over 24 hours and was relentless. Thankfully, it has left us and it’s much quieter this morning. Don told me a funny thing: we were outside the other day, salting the ice that had formed on the parking area and driveway, shoveling excess snow, etc. At the end of it all, he had the thought “Well, we did it. We made it through the winter!” And then he realized that it was only December. We had three more months to go.

And on that note, I am ready to let go of 2025, which hasn’t been the kindest year for us and for so many of our friends. Nor has it been kind to our country and our fellow citizens. I pray that things change in 2026. Frankly, the sooner the better. Tomorrow would be a good choice.

We have found pockets of joy this year. I am ever grateful for my husband, who knows when I need to laugh and promptly does or says something that produces the desired results. Like everyone who is sane, I have felt anger and rage and sadness over what is happening in our country. It has taken a toll on me. And on Don. We’re not special. Everyone I know feels the same way.

I’m reluctant to take down the Christmas tree and the decorations around the house. Of course, I feel that way every year, but especially so this year. We need the sparkle and the lights. I imagine everything will stay in place until Epiphany, at least. There’s not been much needle drop yet, though parts of the tree are getting dry.

We’re at the end of the year. Here’s to a better year for all. May 2026 bring desperately needed change in Washington DC and a measure of peace to all of us and to the world.

I send you best wishes for a Happy New Year. Love to you all!

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.